Reset search
Turkey
  • Abs L
  • Abs L

Turkey

Solo tour trip Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
InsightsCalendarPhotos
  • Trip start
    May 30, 2022
    Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Arrival at IST!Interior blue mosque. Under construction for the moment.Exterior Blue MosqueExterior Hagia SophiaLocal tour guide Mr. Fatih explaining outside HSInterior-dome of HSHS entrance/exit baby JesusDuring prayer time, white curtain will cover the carving of Jesus & angel.Bosphorus CruiseDolmabahce Palace view along Bosphorus StraitThe bridge connecting Asia & Europe along the straitHotel at Bolu for a night rest

    Istanbul

    May 31, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    515am arrival at IST despite delayed take-off. 45min ride to Istanbul city centre.

    1st stop - Blue Mosque. Built by Sultan Ahmed, initially meant to outdo Hagia Sophia in terms of size & architectural.
    2nd stop - Hagia Sophia, the whole reason why I want to visit Turkey. The historic landmark, a church turned into a mosque, then a museum & in 2021 as a mosque whilst the architectures are retained. 5min walking distance from Blue Mosque.
    3rd stop - Bosphorus Cruise, straits between Black Sea & Marmara Hai (sea).

    Travel to Bolu for a night stay.    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Ataturk Mausoleum. Turkish guide being patriotic 😁
    One selfie for the Ataturk MausoleumPosy with Aunty Daisy from tour groupOne for Turkey's flag. Graduation ceremony held on that day we went.Beautiful Turkish kidsLocal chocolate. YumsAt Tuz GoluPink-ish salt. At Tuz LakePink-ish horizonEvil eyes hanging on the tree outside the underground caveUnderground cave. It's naturally cooling.View heading towards Cappadocia hotelWhere the restaurants are situatedBuffet spreadDessert buffet spreadCave hotel sundown view 😍Got lucky with one of the biggest room in the hotel - King Suite 🤭

    Ankara

    June 1, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    1st stop - Ataturk Mausoleum, importance of Turkey's hero.
    2nd stop - Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) at Central Anatolia. Produced 50-60% of salt for local consumption.
    3rd stop - Cappadocia underground caves.

    2 nights stay at Cappadocia Kaseldon Cave Suites! And I count it as a blessing for having one of the biggest room in the hotel for a solo stay, regardless of what ppl would think otherwise 😊    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Firing up ready to fly
    A pic before balloon take-off.Peeps I'm sharing a section of the basket with - Mr.Wong & Jymie.Getting ready to take -off. Woohoo!SunriseView of fairy chimneysSlowly taking off🥷ParapapapdaWith Sunmie & her frenGroupieHappy group photoBeing a photographerThe pilot!The hilarious navigator on board with usLandingThe pilot & navigator opening champagneCelebratory drink & lovely flowers plucked by the navigatorsGroup photo at the end

    Cappadocia Part I

    June 2, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Hot air balloon day! Lucky to be slotted in last minute & thankful for the persuasion from the tour guides to join this once in a lifetime experience. It's a good day to fly and the view is amazing! On natural euphoria from the start till the end 😜

    Woke up at 3am & left hotel at 3.30am. Given some snacks & drink for brekkie on the way there. End of the ride awarded with certificate & celebratory champagne drink.

    P.S. The next day was a no fly day due to unfavourable weather. Cloudy skies. Blessed indeed that we got to take off!    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Weaving double knots. The reason why Turkish carpets can last for generations.
    2way silk carpetDisplaying & selling carpets to the JohoreansPretending to weaveAt pigeon holeCave-like restaurant - lunch at UranosBaklava yumsUchisar CastleGoreme Open Air Museum. Can't take pics of the carvings & paintings inside.Goreme Open Air MuseumRefresher after being under d hot sun. Broke d glass in d bus 🤭Master at workNice chap. Gave me a free handicraft saucer made by him.Local beer at Turkish Belly danceBye bye Kaseldon Cappadocia

    Cappodocia Part 2

    June 2, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Day 4 after hot air balloon
    1st stop - Carpet weaving school
    2nd stop - Pigeon Valley
    3rd stop - Uchisar Castle
    4th stop - Goreme Open Museum
    5th stop - Pottery by Turkish's Eistein
    6th stop - Turkish Belly Dance with free flow of drinksRead more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Re-made interior of the Caravanserai. Perhaps ~10% original state.
    InteriorObrukPoppy flowers along the way to lunchNice kebab lunch...tried the beef & lambLunchYogurt with honey & poppy seeds. YumsCotton CastleSupposed to go early in the morn but ended up in the afternoon.Feet dipping the thermal springNice mother-daughter to hang withSurface of hot springStrong wind, dark skies. Storm is coming.Sweet cherries from hotel's dinner. Local produce.Basic hotel stay for the night.

    Pamukkale

    June 3, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    1st stop - Selcukhan Caravanserai. Inn along the old Silk Road. In the days, every 40km there's an inn as camels can only travel that much in a day.
    2nd stop - Obruk (sinkhole lake).
    3rd stop - Cotton Castle. Predicted that the thermal spring water will all disappear in another 20 yrs.

    A night stay at Colossea Thermal Hotel.    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Really sweet local strawberries!
    Nice of Fatih to buy us local strawberries to taste during the 3hrs drive.1st cup of Turkish coffee in TurkeyBoxes of goods bought by our tour group from Modus Kybele.House of Virgin Mary. There's a statue of Mary inside. Not allowed pics inside.Wall of wishes & prayer.Ephesus - the ancient cityOriginal piping built in the olden daysGate of Hercules, God of strengthThe gate of Herackles that divides the upper & lower cities.The mosaic flooring preserved.Ancient days loo for the rich & influential. Slaves warm by sitting bfr the masters sit.The entrance to library.Group photo at Ephesus.Exiting EphesusSirinche Village. Supposed to be cooling but was warm when were there.Hotel at Kusadasi, balcony overlooking a part of town & Aegen Sea!Interior of Turkish Bath. This is a 2 person room. Mine was private room.View from hotel's breakfast place

    Kuşadası

    June 4, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Early 3hrs drive from Pamukkale to Izmir. Had 1st cup of Turkish coffee during lunch.

    1st stop - Local goodies shopping at Modus Kybele. Olive oil, body oil, Turkish delights, dried figs.
    2nd stop - House of Virgin Mary. Endorsed by pope that this was the last dwelling plc in the end lives of Mary.
    3rd stop - Ephesus city. An ancient Greek city of importance and largest in the Mediterranean world. Due to sedimentation, seashore is 9km away - the reason why it's abandoned.
    4th stop - Sirinche Village, an old Orthodox Village that has been modernized.

    Last stop, a night stay at Blue Signature Hotel in Kusadasi. A lovely spot overlooking Aegen Sea, embayment between Turkey & Greece. 1st time trying Turkish bath, an experience indeed.    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    OOTD for the day
    Saying goodbye to this lovely place. Would want to be back again.Fashion showSporting peeps from the tour group modelling on stage.Entrance to Asklepion. Find it interesting that diagnosis is done through interpretation of dreams.Spot me 🤭Olden city of Troy's cisternA remake of the Trojan Horse at Archeological site.I just like the shape of fig leaves.Otw walking from hotel to Trojan Horse Statute near the dock. Local cart selling cherries, fruits.Clock tower heading towards the port.Ferry dock at Dardanelles Straits.Lively place with restaurants & people.Along Dardanelles Straits. Canakkalle, a city northwest of Turkey in the Marmara Region.While the sun is settingSun setting behind the Trojan horseOtw back to hotel. Beautiful street. The guy was posing for me to take pic.Bought kebab here for dinner. Did not eat hotel's food that night.Busy making kebab. It's cheap 20TL for one.My dinner in the roomView outside my hotel room, Parion Hotel. Sunsets at around 830pm.

    Canakkale

    June 5, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Starts off with visit to leather shop & fashion show. Had a lil regret made in this trip 😶
    2nd stop - Asklepion, temple of healing in the Roman days.
    3rd stop - Archeological site of ancient Troy.

    After check-in to hotel, the very 1st time managed to venture out in the street on own (apart from the whole group) to see the "actual" gifted Trojan horse replica made for the movie Troy to the city of Canakkalle.    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Lunch - 1st fish dish in Turkey
    The Sultans during Ottoman times. Hanging in the Korean-chinese restaurant.Elegant walking gull on the way to Topkapi Palace.Entrance to Topkapi Palace.Don't know what building is this. Inside Topkapi.Dunno what building is this. Topkapi Palace.Armour used during Ottoman times.Interesting pretty looking guns during Ottoman times.Central kitchen behind. The big chimneys.Hagia Irene at outer courtyard of Topkapi. One of few churches in Istanbul not converted to mosque.Simit stall. Personally did not buy any during this trip.Meeting place of Grand Bazaar. Exterior Gate 1.Strange that this is d only pic I took of interior Grand Bazaar. Crooked.Shop selling LokumCeramicsThere's a sign in d shop, no pictures. Opps, took it before reading d sign. The owner was sporting.The nice peeps I leech on to mostly throughout the tour 😁Dinner kebab. The beef is too strong for my taste.Hotel for a night. Again, overkill for 1 pax. A double + a single bed.

    Back to Istanbul

    June 6, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Back to Istanbul city, the European side after touring the Asian side of Turkey for the past days. About 4-5 hours drive from Canakkalle.

    1st stop - Lunch at Korean-Chinese plc in Istanbul. To the delight of most in the tour group.
    2nd stop - Topkapi Palace Museum, huge place with 4 courtyards/sections. Residence & administrative centre for the Sultans during Ottoman Empire. Beautiful Ottoman architecture.
    3rd stop - Grand Bazaar, one of the largest & oldest bazaar in the world. As advised by local tour guide, did not spent a single cent here 😂 Just absorb in the atmosphere.    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    Ortakoy Mosque.
    Awkward stance with Ortakoy Mosque & Bosphorus Bridge behind.Drove past one of the entrance of Dolmabahce Palace.Exterior - entrance to Spice BazaarInterior Spice BazaarHazerBaba - bought some Turkish delights & teas here.The famous coffee at Spice Bazaar.Spice shop at outside lane of Spice Bazaar.Men fishing along Galata Bridge in Istanbul.Galata Bridge, walking towards lunch place below this bridge.Taksim Square monument.Taksim Square..video-ing while enjoying my 🍔.Istiklal Street. Stretches over 2km long. Galata Tower at the end of street.Tram passing through at Istiklal Street.A gorgeous restaurant inside one of the lane at Istiklal Street.Exterior of Catholic church, St. Antoine.Mass on-going inside St. Antoine.Such a hip coffee place tucked in one narrow alley.Stop for Turkish coffee break at the quaint place.Only 2nd cup of Turkish coffee before leaving Turkey.Street food. Burger from Bambi Cafe & it's delicious. Only 13TL.The other side - Siraselviler Street.

    Time to say goodbye 🥺 Part I

    June 7, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Last day in Istanbul before 1:30am flight to KL the next day.

    1st stop - Ortakoy Square, overlooking the Bosphorus Straits. Visited Ortakoy mosque briefly before being kicked out for forgetting the head scarf. The number of minaret of a mosque shows the prominence. HS has 4, Blue Mosque 6, this has 2. Had good Mado ice cream.
    2nd stop - Spice Bazaar. Last minute shopping for things not bought 🤣
    3rd stop - Wonderful fish lunch underneath the bridge. Unfortunately forgot to take pics.
    4th stop - Taksim Square. 2km Istiklal Street. Practically spent the 4 hours given walking non-stop 'coz it's the last day.    Read more

  • Abs LTurkeyAbs L
    With Shireen, Vanensia & Aunty Daisy on d last day 😊
    With Mr. Salman, our excellent driver & the newly wed couple from Penang.With Mr. Fatih, our knowledgeable local tour guide.Display of sandwiches at a kiosk in d airport.The only attempt to take a pic of the huge IST airport.Sleepy, waiting to board. Almost 4 hours waiting time.At last, gate assigned for boarding.Back to reality. Hurt my finger, bloody nail while lugging my luggage from the packed conveyor belt.Stuffs boughtLast group pic before immigration. There are some missing ppl in d group. Bye!

    Time to say goodbye 🤧 Part 2

    June 7, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    After Taksim Square, walked to dinner place with the usual Meditarenan food of chicken, then time to go to the airport.

    Had a fun and good trip with nice people travelling together. Not forgetting the lovely local guide & driver that accompanied us throughout.

    Mr. Allen, our Malaysian tour guide said Turkey is a country that chances are you will only visit once. But I do want to visit Turkey again in the future. Bye for now!    Read more

    Trip end
    June 8, 2022